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20 quotes on immigration reform

The Latino vote proved crucial to President Obama's reelection efforts. Here a look at what members of both parties are saying about immigration reform to appeal to the nation’s fastest-growing demographic.

Rupert Murdoch

House Speaker John Boehner

"This issue has been around far too long. A comprehensive approach is long overdue, and I'm confident that the president, myself, others can find the common ground to take care of this issue once and for all."

President Barack Obama

"The second thing I’m confident we’ll get done next year is immigration reform. And since this is off the record, I will just be very blunt. Should I win a second term, a big reason I will win a second term is because the Republican nominee and the Republican Party have so alienated the fastest-growing demographic group in the country, the Latino community."

Rick Santorum

“It did not get done, in my opinion, by this president because he wanted this as an issue."
“I don’t believe the Democrats are at all sincere about doing anything and compromising with Republicans on immigration."

M.Scott Mahaskey/POLITICO

Sean Hannity

“It’s simple to me to fix it. I think you control the border first. You create a pathway for those people that are here — you don’t say you’ve got to go home. And that is a position that I’ve evolved on. Because, you know what, it’s got to be resolved. The majority of people here, if some people have criminal records you can send them home, but if people are here, law-abiding, participating for years, their kids are born here, you know, first secure the border, pathway to citizenship, done.”
“You can’t let the problem continue — it’s got to stop.”

Haley Barbour

“We certainly don’t have to change ideology. Here’s the point: We ought to be for good policy. My old boss Ronald Reagan used to say, ‘At the end of the day good policy is good politics.’ And good policy on immigration in the United States is, we are in a global battle for capital and labor, and we need to have what is good economic policy for America on immigration because we do need labor."

Vice President Joe Biden

"I feel very optimistic about, in my view, immigration reform."
"As we talked about with most of the Hispanic communities I spoke with over the last month, it played a major role. That’s got to be a wakeup call for a lot of my Republican colleagues who, like John McCain in the past, wanted to do something but felt – I don’t know what – I don’t know what slowed them finally."

Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa)

Charles Krauthammer

"Hispanics [are] not an intrinsic, ethnic-affinity problem, it's a policy problem."
"I think Republicans can change their position, be a lot more open to actual amnesty with enforcement -- amnesty, everything short of citizenship -- and to make a bold change in their policy."

John Shinkle/POLITICO

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-New York)

"I am optimistic. It is a little bit of a mirror image like the fiscal cliff. I think there are a large number of Republicans who understand that the anti-immigrant position, no immigration, we couldn't even pass a [worker visa] STEM bill through the House because the Republican caucus said you can't have a net increase in any immigrants."

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina)

”Here’s the challenge, I’m willing to deal with the hard stuff. I’m willing to do it in a realistic fashion, but I’d do it in a way so I can tell people in South Carolina that we’re not going to have 12 million more 20 years from now.”

Rush Limbaugh

“If it were true that the primary reason that people (illegal immigrants) were coming here is to work, then the Democrat Party would be the ones building the fence on the border."
“Why do you think the Democrats welcome them? Why do you think the Democrats want amnesty? They know that they’ve got them as voters.”

Former Bush aide Mark McKinnon

“The best thing about Republicans losing is that it will likely force them to cut an immigration deal."

Gov. Bob McDonnell (R-Virginia)

“I feel very strongly it has to start with border control and enforcement.”

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada)

“The only thing we need to get immigration reform done is a few Republican votes. It’s high on my list, and we’re going to have a few votes on it.”

Rep. Tom Cole (R-Oklahoma)

“An immigration deal is something the Senate needs to take the lead on. You’ve got Rubio there to take the lead on it. You’re not going to get the House to do it until they know the Senate is serious."

Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kansas)

“It’s clear to me, if Republicans are going to have the opportunity to be in the majority, we clearly have to determine how we deal with minority and Latino voters."
“In some fashion, the way we have dealt with immigration gives us a black eye. And we need to figure out how to talk about issues and pursue policies that matter to Latino, Hispanic voters.”

Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist

“Republicans should approach it as the party of Reagan and Bush -- the party that has historically been pro-immigration."

Rep. Devin Nunes (R-California)

“It’s about border security. It’s about fixing the existing programs we have in place for the different types of employee visas. You need to fix those or completely revamp them. … You have to deal with children brought here under no fault of their own. You have to deal with people here who are here just to find work. You have to have a process that everyone goes through. But it all starts with the president. The president has to give confidence to the American people that the border is secured."

Rep. Raul Labrador (R-Idaho)

“There’s a bipartisan majority that realizes we have a problem on immigration."
“We have an immigration system that’s broken. And we can figure out how to do it by working together. And we can do it without amnesty, without a pathway to citizenship. We can solve the guest worker program that we have in the United States. We can protect the border, and it behooves Republicans right now after the elections to figure out how to work on this issue.”